The Library of Congress has created four carefully curtailed exceptions to the …

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The Library of Congress has created four carefully curtailed exceptions to the DMCA in the interest of preventing the DMCA from unfairly breaking mostly obsolete technology. The list represents "four classes of work," as follows:

(1) Compilations consisting of lists of Internet locations blocked by commercially marketed filtering software applications that are intended to prevent access to domains, websites or portions of websites, but not including lists of Internet locations blocked by software applications that operate exclusively to protect against damage to a computer or computer network or lists of Internet locations blocked by software applications that operate exclusively to prevent receipt of email.

(2) Computer programs protected by dongles that prevent access due to malfunction or damage and which are obsolete.

(3) Computer programs and video games distributed in formats that have become obsolete and which require the original media or hardware as a condition of access. A format shall be considered obsolete if the machine or system necessary to render perceptible a work stored in that format is no longer manufactured or is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace.

(4) Literary works distributed in ebook format when all existing ebook editions of the work (including digital text editions made available by authorized entities) contain access controls that prevent the enabling of the ebook's read-aloud function and that prevent the enabling of screen readers to render the text into a specialized format.

In other words, the Library of Congress supports the legal circumvention of filtering lists, broken or obsolete physical protection methods, broken or obsolete software technologies used to protect content, and e-books that are not fully accessible to disabled persons. These concessions are rather limited, and have left disappointment on the faces of many. In particular, it was hoped that the Library of Congress would push forward fair use matters relating to CD and DVD encryption.

"It's disappointing that the U.S. Copyright Office and the Librarian (of Congress) continue to relinquish their power to protect the rights of American consumers to lawfully use their own property," said Robin Gross, executive director of IP Justice, a digital rights activist group. In a statement accompanying the ruling, Librarian of Congress James Billington said that he did not have the power to go as far as critics wanted and that many of the most expansive proposals for exemptions had been put forward by people who misunderstood the law. Some participants "sought exemptions that would permit them to circumvent access controls on all works when they are engaging in particular noninfringing uses of those works," Billington wrote in his statement. "The law does not give me that power."

Sadly, Billington is right. The problems with the DMCA can't be fixed with Band-Aids, but entities such as the Library of Congress are in a unique position to poke the law and get the attention of the folks on the Hill. It's rather clear that the steady stream of complaints from savvy 'netizens and the like are falling on mostly deaf ears in the federal government. Then again, members of the Tennessee Digital Freedom Network are managing to create a bit of a stir at deliberations over Tennessee's Super-DMCA legislation.

Eric and I were discussing the above, and one thing jumped to mind immediately: does the above clear the way for ROM emulators? It stands to reason that as soon as any given gaming device is no longer commercially available, one should be able to emulate that device without fear of repercussions. Of course, this doesn't mean that ROMs somehow become public domain, but it may free up the use of ROMs that are owned by by consumers.

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Ken Fisher
Ken is the founder & Editor-in-Chief of Ars Technica. A veteran of the IT industry and a scholar of antiquity, Ken studies the emergence of intellectual property regimes and their effects on culture and innovation. Emailken@arstechnica.com//Twitter@kenfisher